What Was Left Behind
by MoodleNoodle
Summary: Saving Inoue took longer than anyone could've imagined. After three years, Ichigo finally returns home to find everything isn't how he left it. Now he realizes the war isn't over, it's barely just begun. Rated T for language and violence.


AN: Wow, it's been quite some time since I've even attempted to write fanfiction. Like 5 years ago? It's been too long, I can't really remember. I just remember that my stories sucked because I was like.. 11. Yeah. I used to be known as Getsilly93, but I've decided to write under a new name. You know, a fresh start. I'm not sure where this idea came from for this fanfiction, not really sure where it's going to go if it's going to go anywhere at all. But I hope whoever reads it enjoys it to some degree 

This story might be Karin and Yuzu centric, but that may change.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Really.

She's always hated mornings.

She just happened to hate this particular morning, _a lot._

She lifted her head from the toilet seat, wondering if her stomach was done emptying itself. She couldn't explain why, but when she woke up this morning the air felt different. It felt so much heavier than usual and it made her stomach churn. As soon as she got to school and assured Yuzu she was fine, she bolted to the nearest bathroom and proceeded to upchuck her breakfast.

Yeah, she _really_ hated mornings.

Finally, the vomiting stopped, to her relief. She didn't know she had that much inside her stomach. She wiped off the sweat dotting her forehead and attempted to get rid of the foul taste that lingered in her mouth. Once she deemed her self presentable, she exited the bathroom and walked to her locker with her normal scowl plastered on her face.

She ignored the frightened looks she received from students who weren't used to her natural expression. Her classmates were so accustomed to it, it was like it wasn't even there.

She arrived at her locker and began to fumble with the lock when she heard a voice she would be able to recognize anywhere, call her out. She looked up to see Yuzu smile brightly as she ran to her side. Her long blonde hair flowed behind her. Yuzu's smile was as cheerful as ever, but it never reached her eyes anymore.

Anger boiled inside of her.

She never truly smiled since_ he _left.

"Karin", her chipper voice immediately calming her anger, "are you sure you're alright?" Yuzu's dull eyes flashed with concern.

Karin rolled her eyes at her twin. "I already told you, I'm fine. Stop worrying."

Yuzu merely shrugged her shoulders and smiled another fake smile, at which Karin flinched, and skipped into their homeroom.

Karin leaned her head against the cold metal of her locker. She hated seeing her twin like this. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

The rage once again began to boil. She clenched her fists at her sides.

It was all because of that _bastard_. She hated him. At first, she was okay with him gone. He had to have a good reason, she was sure of it. But as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, she found her hatred for him grow. After one year she officially decided she hated him.

One year became two…. And now it felt like it was so long ago she didn't even know how long he had been gone.

Who was she kidding. She knew to the exact _second_ how long he had been gone.

_Three years._

Three years! She couldn't believe it. That bastard of a brother abandoned them for three whole fucking years!

It hurt their family more than the death of their beloved mother. Though their father still kept up his childish antics, Karin could tell it was forced. She could see through his fake display and how much he worried for his son.

Then there was Yuzu. It probably hurt Yuzu the most. She pretended to act like nothing was wrong but deep down inside she was broken in two. Karin lost track of how many times she heard her sister cry out her brother's name in the middle of the night. Or when she thought no one was looking, an ugly frown would replace her smile. Or when she locked herself in the bathroom for hours at a time, claiming it was just puberty getting the better of her.

Karin slammed her fist against the locker, leaving a small dent in its wake.

_Damn him. Damn him. Damn him. _

When she occasionally saw Tatsuki even she had a cloud of depression surrounding her.

But the one thing she would never admit was how much his disappearance was affecting her. No, she decided a long time ago she wouldn't let his absence get to her.

He wasn't her Ichi-nii anymore. He was just Ichigo, a person she happened to hate very much.

Phew! Wow, that was long. Well, at least it felt like it. I'm actually pretty happy with this. Like I said, not really sure where this is going. I have some ideas, but nothing set in stone just yet.

Reviews are welcome, so are critiques, just don't be harsh please!

Thank you for reading and remember to review!!!

3 Jen


End file.
